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Snell-Zimmerman-Timmerman Fall Newsletter 2009

 

Dear Cousins and Friends:
Where has the year gone? It cannot be nearly the end of 2009 - but what a year it has been! Summers are not long enough to get all the Mohawk Valley activities in. It is a busy time going from one event to another, but the only one that really matters is our annual SZT family reunion. Our Family keeps on caring about our proud history and of course our Snells Bush Church, God's Acre. Our family list keeps on growing also. We found a few more cousins this year. Some came for the very first time to visit our historic church on the hill.


Our 71st Reunion was a success - even though the weather did not cooperate. We had planned a wonderful day starting with the re-dedication of two cemetery stones -Adam House and Adam Klock, at the church cemetery. The program had to be held inside the church due to the rain; however our guest re-enactors from the NY Royal Irish Artillery were able to fire three salutes (normally they fire a 13 gun salute) on the lawn from their cannon (under their 21st century umbrellas which kept the powder dry). While we were outside watching the cannon salute, our soloist/pianist/organist was practicing her selections, to the enjoyment of all listeners. Our music for the day was provided by one of our extremely talented cousins, Alice Johnson Hannon. It was a real treat for us to hear her - and our antique organ and piano never sounded as good! We were also very fortunate to have lay minister Catherine Ossenfort (one of our trustees) lead the service. After the business meeting, we enjoyed a delicious catered lunch provided by Ruth Petkovsek. Fortunately our tents kept the rain out and everyone had a good time in spite of the rainy weather. Hopefully, next year it won't rain!!


Wendy Marchese handles our wedding schedules for us. We had 7 weddings this past year at our church. So far, there is one scheduled for July 17, 2010, with another possible for May. The expense for mowing before each wedding and our reunion is about $1800 for the year. The rental fees cover most of this. We also have our insurance expense and electricity expenses. Cemetery repair is an ongoing project. We plan to apply for new stones for Conrad Timmerman and Jacob Snell for 2010, Revolutionary soldiers. The Veterans Administration has been very helpful with this expense. Volunteers from the board poured the cement base this year for the new stones. The man, who does our mowing, donated his time to even out some of the uneven spots and push back the encroaching hedge. The lower Snells bush cemetery had some damage from a fallen tree. Your officers cleared it off the stones, however the fence is in need of work and we plan to replace it in the spring. We plan to have a local boy scout group come to assist the spring clean up. We need volunteers to help with the fence repair. Our piano needs some serious repair. The ivories are coming off the keys. Alice Fake will get in touch with an expert to have the piano repaired in the spring. The temperature variations have taken a toll over the years.


The interior of the church was painted this year. The project was awarded to a family descendant contractor, Randy Snell. Your officers were very pleased with the job. The church looks very nice sitting on the hill after the exterior painting last year. It seems to glow when the sun shines on the church steeple and can be seen from the surrounding countryside. New visitors are amazed at the panoramic view from our church.


Since Christmas is coming, it is gift time again. Remember to buy genealogy books to give to family members. They might be 2 or 3 generations behind the current time, (which is good for personal identity security) but these books give lots of interesting historical information about family members that the web sites do not have. Our genealogy books are listed on line at www.szt-genealogy.org. We also place them at the Herkimer County Historical Society and at Montgomery County Historical Archives at Fonda, NY. We also have Snells Bush Church photo t-shirts ($15), Christmas balls ($3), pewter pins ($3), and note cards ($2 each) for sale showing the church.


2010 will be the 300th anniversary of our Snell, Timmerman, and Zimmerman ancestors' arrival in America. They left the area along the Rhine River in what is now Germany to start a new life with hope for religious freedom, land ownership, and a better future for their children. Their struggles in the wilderness helped establish the solid foundations of the United States of America. NYS Chapter of Palatines to America is sponsoring a National conference June 18-19, 2010 at Holiday Inn, Fishkill, NY to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Palatine immigration as well as 300 years of German influence in America. Please contact Sarah Timmerman Israel sarahtisrael@hotmail.com for more information on this event.


Nancy and I are busy working on the mail and e-mail addresses keeping up to date. Please send us any updates on births, deaths, marriages, new email addresses and regular mail address changes. We love to hear from you. If you cannot make the reunions and want to visit Snells Bush Church, let me know. Last summer, I, Sarah (in New Jersey) got a call from a cousin traveling on the NYS thruway who wanted to visit the church. Sarah called Nancy with the cousin's cell phone number and she met him at the churchyard a couple of hours later! Mr. Snell was from Michigan and had never been to Snells Bush Church before.


Next year's SZT reunion will be held August 1, 2010 so mark your calendars!


We also want to extend a sincere "Thank You" to all who have donated or helped in any way. If every SZT descendant donated as little as $1 every year, we would not have to worry about how to meet our expenses to continue maintaining our historic church.


We wish everyone Good Health, Happiness, and Blessed Holidays.


Sincerely,


Sarah Timmerman Israel sarahtisrael@hotmail.com 732-828-3508
Nancy Timmerman Cioch ncioch@yahoo.com 315-866-3419
Snell-Zimmerman-Timmerman Reunion, Inc.
PO Box 623, Little Falls, NY 13365

 

 

 

SZT Publications
The following books are available from the SZT Reunion, Inc. Checks should be made payable to the SZT Reunion and mailed to: Treasurer, SZT Reunion, Inc., P.O. Box 623, Little Falls, NY 13365. Add $5.50 shipping and handling for each book.

Books by David Kendall Martin
The 18th Century Zimmerman Family of the Mohawk Valley, 1994.


This book traces the descendants of Jacob and Margaretha Jung Zimmerman for six generations (over nearly two hundred years) from their German home village in the mid-1600's to the Mohawk Valley and beyond. It is a handsome, indexed, 8.5" x 11" hard covered book with over 300 pages heavily illustrated with photographs, maps, and signatures. Among the many related family names in the book are: Getman, Walrad, Petrie, Read, Bellinger, Smith, Fox, Failing, Van Allen, Herder, Hutchins, Dockey, Sponable, Bauder, and others.
$45.00 + S&H


The 18th Century Snell Family of the Mohawk Valley, 1982.


The format and contents of this book are similar to the above Zimmerman book. David Martin gives all available information on those Snells born before 1800 in Germany and New York. The various lines are carried well into the 1800's. The book is in 8.5" x 11" format, with a soft cover. $15.00 + S&H


The 18th Century Failing Family of the Mohawk Valley, 1979

This soft cover book traces descendants of Henrich H. and Anna Maria Kunigunda Failing from 1710 to 1900. The book is rich with history, family lore, illustrations, documents and maps. $10.00 +S&H


Books by Carolyn Timmerman Sidenius
Four books complement David Martin's 18th Century Zimmerman Family by extending the known descendants of four sons of Jacob and Margaretha Schutz Zimmerman (David, Lawrence, George, and Henry) into the latter part of the 20th century. A fifth book extends David Martin's 18th Century Snell Family by continuing the descendants of Peter Snell into the 20th century.


Descendants of David Timmerman of the Mohawk Valley, NY, 1998.


This book is based on the 1925 work by Manley Timmerman, but is greatly expanded from that work. Family names found within the 200 page book include Allison, Cronk, Durner, Fellows, Gaylord, Smith, Spoor, Van Deusen, Wooledge, and Zoller. Soft cover. $18.00 +S&H


Descendants of Lawrence Timmerman of the Mohawk Valley, NY, 1998.
Among the descendants of Lawrence covered by this book are those of his granddaughter, Gertrude, who married John C. Timerman, a grandson of Conrad Zimmerman (and brother to Lawrence, David, Henry, and George) and moved to Perch Lake, Jefferson County, NY. This 150 page genealogy (plus a 50 page index) also includes many descendants of Henry Lawrence Timmerman who moved to Indiana. Family names in the index include Snell (117), Bahar, Baker, Bowman, Broughton, Brown, Cramer, Darling, Dunten, Hoover, Lobdell, Meyer, Mosher, Petrie, Van Allen, and many others. $18.00 + S&H


Descendants of George Timmerman (1734-1800) of Mohawk Valley, NY, 1995.
George, another son of the immigrant Jacob Zimmerman, was baptized by an itinerant pastor on 20 Jan. 1734. His wife was Anna Elizabeth Klock, a daughter of Johannes and Anna Margaretha Fox Klock. George had 10 children. Their numerous descendants have been ably documented in this 8.5" x 11" typed book of almost 300 pages, with a soft but durable cover. The index of this genealogy includes Bellingers (209 names) of Onondaga, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence counties in New York; Billings; Broat (94); Fox, Frye, Flanders; Hayes (339); Keyser/Kyser (78); Levee; Mason; Mosher; Robinson; Snell; Van Gorder (70); and Williams. $25.00 + S&H


Descendants of Lt. Henry Timmerman of Herkimer County, NY, 1988.
Henry, son of the immigrant Jacob, was born about 30 Dec. 1737 and died 18 May 1807. While born a Zimmerman, most of the family changed to the Anglicized spelling of Timmerman after the Revolution. He settled in what is now the town of Manheim in Herkimer County. He was twice married - to Catherine Fox and then to Margaret Bellinger. He had 19 children - 7 boys and 12 girls - of whom 15 were living at the time of his death. His numerous descendants are found throughout the Mohawk Valley, New York state, and the U.S. and Canada. This hard cover 8.5" x 11" book, with over 300 pages, follows a great number of them into the 1980s. The index includes many Snells, Getmans, Greens/Greenes, Handys, Herkimers, Klocks, Robinsons, Vedders, Walraths, and others. $35.00 + S&H


Descendants of Peter and Anna Kilts Snell of the Mohawk Valley, NY, 1992.
Peter Snell (s/o Johan Jost and Maria Catharine Kraft Snell) was born about 24 June 1730, probably in Schoharie County, NY, and died in Snells Bush, Manheim, Herkimer County, NY, in 1804. He married Susanna "Anna" Kilts (d/o Peter and Anna Maria Bellinger Kilts). At the time of Anna's death, she left 420 descendants. This 334 page typed book, with a soft cover, traces over 3400 descendants, many into the 1990s.

$25.00 + S&H


Other Publications
The War Years in the Mohawk Valley. Frank C. Bellinger.
Articles describe conditions, activities, and battles during the Revolution and its aftermath.
Pamphlet. 1983, 20 pp. $2.00


Fifty Years With the Faith of Our Fathers. Carolyn Timmerman Sidenius and Edith S. Timmerman. A history of our Reunion and church compiled for the Reunion's 50th Anniversary from newspaper accounts, early newsletters, and meeting and reunion minutes. It is particularly informative for new members. Pamphlet. 1988, 48pp. $4.00


American Patriots at the Battle of Oriskany. Vera De Witt.
A register of Tryon County Militia and New York volunteers in the Revolutionary War.
Soft covered. 1977, 60 pp. $5.00